Sound bites

I am so distracted by a whirlwind of sound bites on the bailout and the Presidential race that I am having a hard time blogging. Here’s a sampling of sound bites:

“Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency,”
Henry Paulson Jr, Treasury Secretary, proposing bailout language:

“This massive bailout is not a solution. It is financial socialism and it’s un-American,”
-Senator Jim Bunning, Republican

“This was no act of God. This was not like Hurricane Hike — Ike, rather. It was created by a combustible combination of private greed and public regulatory neglect, and now we must confront the present crisis.”
- Senator Chris Dodd

Here are some sound bites from the campaign trail:

BIILL CLINTON talking about Sarah Palin’s candidacy:

[Clinton] said voters would think, “I like that little Down syndrome kid…”

SARAH PALIN talking to Katie Couric about the Wall Street meltdown:

Couric: You’ve said, quote, “John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business.” Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?

Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that’s paramount. That’s more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.

Couric: But he’s been in Congress for 26 years. He’s been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.

Palin: He’s also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he’s been talking about - the need to reform government.

Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you’ve said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?

Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.

Couric: I’m just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.

Palin: I’ll try to find you some and I’ll bring them to you.

JOHN MCCAIN on the campaign trail after not talking to a national reporter for 41 days:

“Has your bus become the No Talk Express?”, a reporter on the bus shouting to McCain as he walked by reporters.

John McCain explaining to a national reporter why he chose Sarah Palin as VP shortly after the “No Talk Express” complaint:
“ First of all, anybody who’s governed a state has some economic experience. And by the way, she cut taxes. The second thing is, she shares the world view that I have.”

JOE BIDEN stumbling through the campaign trail:

Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America…Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me.”

“Chuck, stand up, let the people see you,” Biden to State Senator Chuck Graham a paraplegic in a wheelchair.

“I thought that was terrible by the way.” - when asked about an Obama campaign ad attacking McCain.

CINDY MCCAIN talking to George Stephanopolous about Sarah Palin:

Stephanopolous: But she has no national security experience.
McCain: You know, the experience that she comes from is what she’s done in government, and remember, Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia. It’s not as if she doesn’t understand what’s at stake here.

SARAH PALIN talking to Katie Couric about whether Russia’s proximity to Alaska bolsters her foreign policy credentials:

“Well, it certainly does because our– our next-door neighbors are foreign countries. They’re in the state that I am the executive of.”

What’s Hollywood saying about all this?

“It’s as if [Sarah Palin] became celebrated. I mean, the mother, Palin, was celebrated for this. Every woman in the world has applauded her strength and her convictions and poor little old Jamie Lynn, you saw how she was crucified — everybody did, firsthand. I just feel like it’s been a very hypocritical situation.”
- Lynn Spears, mom of teenage mom Jamie Lynn Spears

“…I will tell you a secret: Her baby does sleep all night. What do you think about those apples?
Lynn Spears, mom of teenage mom Jamie Lynn Spears

“Is our country so divided that the Republicans’ best hope is a narrow-minded, media-obsessed homophobe?” Lindsay Lohan

“I find it quite interesting that a woman who now is running to be second in command of the United States, only four years ago had aspirations to be a television anchor. Which is probably all she is qualified to be.” Lindsay Lohan

“It’s like a really bad Disney movie, “The Hockey Mom.’ Oh, I’m just a hockey mom from Alaska, and she’s president. She’s facing down Vladimir Putin and using the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey rink. It’s absurd.” – Matt Damon

“There’s nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action”
- Tommy Smothers accepting his Emmy award, after commenting on the war